Invent a Reason for the name "Goatchurch"

[Peter Burgess]

As it seems nobody knows why Goatchurch Cavern is so named, here's your chance to use your imagination, and to convince us all of your very plausible explanation.

I'll start.

When cavers first started to explore Mendip caves at weekends, and returned to work on Monday, their friends naturally asked them where they went at the weekend. Not wanting in those days to admit to being Godless individuals, they naturally said Go to Church, but in reality they were caving in Burrington. Soon the deception, with some etymological corruption on the way, resulted in the most popular cave being called "Goatchurch".

I'm sure you can do better ......

 

[Stu]

As it seems nobody knows why Goatchurch Cavern is so named, here's your chance to use your imagination, and to convince us all of your very plausible explanation.

I'll start.

When goats first started to explore Mendip caves at weekends, and returned to work on Monday, their goat-friends naturally asked them where they went at the weekend. Not wanting in those days to admit to being Godless individuals, they naturally said Goat Church, but in reality they were caving in Burrington. Soon the deception, with some etymological corruption on the way, resulted in the most popular cave being called "Goatchurch".

I'm sure you WILL do better ......

 

[AndyF]

Hehe it's redneck for "Go To Church"

 

[Peter Burgess]

Plagiarist!!!

 

[Stu]

I think AndyF tried really hard and his effort should be applauded!!!  :halo: me!

 

[Walrus]

Ok...  In the beginning...

Before proper lamps people must have used candles to see in the dark with. They wern't so fussy about clearing up after themselves to they left them lying around. All these candle odds & ends, melted where they stood and stick to the rock... so it starts to look like a church (might have looked quite nice in candlelight).

A goat comes along, maybe in the dark, finds a nice hole to shelter from the rain and as it cant see (goats cant use candles) it slips and falls inside where it cant get out. But its not dead! However as it cant see it panics and beats itself to death running into walls and slipping thru passages - blood everywhere! 

The next day the goat herder comes to have a mooch looking for his goat; he sees the blood, follows the trail and finds the goat wedged in the drainpipe. Being a bit simple and maybe spooked by all the blood and candle stumps he thinks his goat has been sacrificed by satanists! When he tries to tell people about this they ask "where did it happen?" ...and thus Goatchurch is born!

 

[cap n chris]

I always thought it was called GoatseCrutch  :doubt:

 

[wormster]

I always thought it was called GoatseCrutch  :doubt:

Why??

Because some poor sod dropped a few groats down a hole on the way to church?

(Off topic I know)

I've always thought that this explanation works well when applied to the Grand Canyon.

 

[finster]

Apparently believe it or not it wasn't always called Goatchurch, i'll try and find the original name and see if its a imaginative as at present.

 

[finster]

ok found it its not so imaginative... according to history of mendip caving that area of burrington could have been called 'Goatchurch' (circa 1829) also it goes on to say the saxon word for winding river is 'gota chiar'... but caps it all off by saying in 1874 it was referred to as 'Goats Hole' and that this was probably the original name.... So may be it was a hole that a load of goats fell into on the way to church after all.

 

[graham]

Williams,R.G.J., 1987. John Strachey on some Mendip Caverns and antiquities in the early eighteenth century. Proc. U. Bristol Spel. Soc., 18(1), pp 57-64.